This week, RoboCop steps back onto the screen. But unlike a cartoonish steel cyborg, the new Officer Alex Murphy is eerily imaginable. Director José Padilha and production designer Martin Whist were inspired by some of today’s most promising (or perilous) science as they conceived the part-human, part-robot peace­keeper of 2028. Ultimate Armor

Rather than clanging metal plates, Whist chose graphene for Robo­Cop’s armor. The lattice of carbon atoms is 200 times stronger and six times lighter than steel. Although graphene is now only produced in small batches, corporations, including Samsung, are researching more efficient ways to produce the material.

All-seeing Vision

RoboCop can identify a face in a matter of seconds, a feat that’s not far-fetched for 2028. The FBI currently can match faces to mug shots with up to 80 percent accuracy, and researchers have developed algorithms that identify faces in video. The hitch will be securing enough bandwidth to analyze all that data on the fly.